Ana Duarte-Pineda v. United States
SocialSecurity Securities Immigration
Whether an appellate court has a duty to replace a defendant's appellate counsel with unconflicted counsel when the defendant's pro se response to an Anders brief alleges ineffective assistance of trial counsel and a probable conflict of interest with the appellate counsel
QUESTION PRESENTED If an indigent criminal defendant’s pro se response to a brief filed under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), alleges ineffective assistance of trial counsel and that trial counsel is affiliated with the appellate counsel who filed the Anders brief, creating a probable conflict of interest, does the appellate court have a duty to sua sponte replace the defendant’s appellate counsel with unconflicted counsel?